And It Was There
by heystella
Summary: If you were never there for me, why should I be here for you? Heiji/Kazuha.


And It Was There  
by Kaiyrah  
PG13  
If you were never there for me, why should I be here for you? An unusual Heiji/Kazuha.  
Notes: It's human nature to easily transition from feeling one way one moment to feeling another the next. (Whether I actually accomplished that or not, we'll see.) DC as always, isn't mine.

* * *

They had only been living next door to each other for a few weeks, and although they were best friends at one point, life happened and they drifted apart. These days, they didn't make it a point to say anything past hello -- it was as if they were complete strangers.

And though they hadn't spoken much since she moved in next door, he had already picked up on a rather ugly habit of hers.

As usual on warm summer nights, he sat outside on his porch with an Asahi in hand, looking into the sky and admiring the stars. The house next to his was dark and empty. It always happened when he was just about to go back inside.

Tonight the man she was attached to was a tall, gangly thing. His build wasn't impressive, but he had sharp eyes and a kind face. No particularly charismatic qualities about him either... He looked intelligent. Probably a computer science or an engineering major.

Not exactly Kazuha's type (how was he sure what that was anyway?), but still, here she was with him. "Would you like to come in for a bit?"

The man smiled. "Thank you." And while grasping her hand, he walked inside.

This subject was new. Heiji had seen another one, a more muscular one who probably was a college athlete, and had a decent brain. That one had been to Kazuha's house just the weekend before.

Sometimes she brought home boy-next-door types. Other times she brought home dangerous types, with criminal eyes Heiji recognized in some of his cases. Those were the times when he really wanted to go over there and demand that the man go away -- but then he remembered, they weren't exactly friends as before.

In the old days she would tenaciously cling to him, like her life depended on it (sometimes it did). Often she would get jealous whenever he mentioned a girl, or whenever he winked at his groupies. "Don't encourage them," she frowned. "What'll happen when you find the girl that you want to settle down with?"

_What happened to the girl who placed such great value on relationships?_

The weeks passed, and the warm summer nights gradually cooled down to chilly fall nights. Heiji had to wear a sweatshirt whenever he stepped outside to sit on the porch (he didn't have to keep up this tradition, but those stars were gorgeous...).

Today her man was a friend of Heiji's, a young police officer who worked with Otaki-han. He reminded Heiji of himself, actually, in that he was equally interested in mysteries and crime-solving. He was a good man.

_Good enough for Kazuha?_ He decided not to answer.

"That was fun, Saito-kun," she smiled, touching his arm gently.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Then, a beat of silence passed before he leaned over to whisper something in her ear, to which she listened and shook her head. With a brief hug, they parted ways and Kazuha slipped into her house.

Secretly he wondered how long he could go on seeing her live her life like this.

It was only when Saito walked her home again, nearly a month later, that Heiji decided to do something about it.

"Thank you for dinner, Saito-kun. I'll have to treat you next time."

"Nonsense, a true gentleman couldn't let a lady pay for his meal."

A rather loud cough sounded from behind them. Heiji approached the pair and nodded curtly at Saito. Then, "Kazuha, could I talk to you for a minute?"

Saito glanced at Heiji and smiled knowingly. "Well then, Toyama-san, I guess I'll see you next time."

"Sure," she nodded and opened the door, motioning for Heiji to come in.

The house was clean, decorated with simple feminine accents. It was very... Kazuha, he decided. The men who had come into the house before must have thought along the same lines -- his stomach turned at the thought.

"Go ahead and have a seat if you want," Kazuha spoke as she walked into the kitchen.

He debated whether he should indeed sit down or follow her into the kitchen to get straight to the point. Soon the latter won.

She was filling a teakettle with some water when he went through the door. "The tea will be ready in a minute, Hattori-kun."

_Did I just hear that right?_ "Why do you do that?"

She blinked at him, setting the kettle down on the counter. "What do you mean?"

"Today it was Saito. Last week it was some guy I've never seen before. The week before that, it was that guy who works at the coffee shop down the street. What's going on, Kazuha?" Heiji strode closer to her, as if demanding answers.

"What, can't I have fun?" her smile was innocent, and Heiji frowned. "I'm not going to be young forever; I want to enjoy my life while I can."

"Don't give me that," he snapped.

"What are you talking about, Hattori-kun?" Kazuha laughed airily, "You're a strange one."

He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Stop that. Stop messing around with guys, stop acting like you don't know anything, and stop calling me Hattori-kun. We're friends, aren't we?!"

"I'm not messing around with guys. They're nice people; can't I hang around people I like? And honestly, Hattori-kun," she emphasized, which made Heiji's blood boil, "We may have been close when we were younger, but we grew up. You have your life to live and I have mine. I thought you would respect that."

"What, so just because we grew up means we can't be friends anymore? Even if you say we can't, I still don't want to see you living your life like a complete fool. I'm just looking out for you!"

"I appreciate your concern, but it's really not necessary. You just worry about living your own life, and I'll worry about mine. Can we agree on that?"

"No, Kazuha. Why are you acting like this? Being so distant isn't going to make me go away. You used to tell me everything! What happened?"

She pressed her lips together to set a thin line -- something he easily recognized as one of her many signs of irritation._ All the better._ "I mean, you used to follow me around all the time! I hardly see you now. If something's wrong, I'll fix it!"

By now she had looked away from him and scratched her temple.

"I just want things to go back to how they were before. Stop pushing me away."

"So you're saying it's my fault that we're like this now?" she asked him quietly, her eyes brimming with anger.

"Didn't I just say that?" he challenged.

"Don't be an ass. Why are you giving me this attitude?"

"Well, it can't be my fault that all this happened!"

She snapped. "I can't believe you! 'It can't be your fault?' Who do you think it was that always went after cases, ditching me everywhere? Who do you think it was that never made time for me because he was so busy?"

"It's always been like that! Ever since we were in high school, I've always put work first, and you understood me for it! So why is it that you're messing it all up now?!"

"Oh, don't even try to put the blame on me, Heiji. You were the one who was always shutting me out. Was I supposed to obediently sit around and just wait for you to make time for me? I have more self-respect than that!"

"What self-respect are you yapping about? You always followed me around in high school, why did you decide to stop doing it all of a sudden? If your self-respect was at stake, you never should have made it a point to follow me around anyway!"

"I wouldn't have stopped if you had at least given me the time of day! When you shut me out, I felt like it was your way of saying that you didn't want me around anymore. You thought I got in the way, right?"

"Sometimes, yeah! You know what a pain it is to take care of not only yourself but someone else while on a dangerous case? Of course I wouldn't want you tagging along!"

"Exactly my point! So why are you getting mad because I don't follow you around anymore? It's better that way, right?!"

"Yeah, but even if it was a pain sometimes, it was still weird when you weren't around!"

She looked about ready to blow up. "So what the hell does that mean? You're not making any sense at all!"

"What's not to get about it? You're just being stupid!"

Kazuha tried to wrap her brain around the situation. "God, what... Ugh. This is what I hate about you, Heiji. Sometimes you're just so... so..."

"What? Idiotic? Come on, let's hear it, Kazuha. It's nothing I haven't heard from you before!"

"Childish and stubborn!"

"What?!"

"Why, is this news to you? You're childish, you're stubborn, you refuse to grow up and accept the fact that things are different now even though you were the one who always put your cases above everything else!"

Heiji tried to interrupt to give his input, but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction. "Whenever I called you to hang out, who was it that turned me down every single time? You. Whenever we did hang out, who was it that ran off at the mere mention of a nearby crime? You. On my birthday, who was it that promised me a dinner so we could catch up but never showed? It was you. Just because you're feeling a little uncomfortable with your life right now doesn't mean you can come barging into mine now that I'm happy. If you were never there for me, why should I be here for you?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and in one fluid motion rammed her shoulders against the wall, eliciting a cry of pain. "Why, you ask? That's the way it's always been, and that's how it should stay." And without waiting for a response, he pressed his lips to hers.

Kazuha tried everything in her power to push him away. Turned her head to the side but he only followed. Pushed him with her hands but he grabbed her wrists. His arms snaked around her thin form, enveloping her completely in his warmth. Possession.

She finally parted her lips and began responding to him, and after that, Heiji wasn't sure where his mind went. He knew she had begun running her hands through his hair and at one point she jumped up onto his frame, straddling his hips -- and hands traveling up shirt hems going places never explored. Anything else, everything that he ever worked for was lost to him in a single moment.

A voice nagged at him in the back of his head -- do you not realize that you're _kissing_ your oldest friend, the girl you've known for years, the one who was always an older sister figure? But strangely nothing felt wrong about it; everything felt right, only right.

As if he was meant to do this.

As if this was something that he was supposed to have realized long before.

His heart beat in his chest. With every pump, the blood flowed through his veins, filling his body with unusual, warm, yet welcoming feelings.

Could it really have been...?

He pulled back slightly, "Kazuha?" breathlessly inquired, cupping her cheek with his right hand, and she didn't answer, only pressed many soft kisses to his lips.

"Kazuha?" He asked again, once his head stopped spinning.

Her beautiful green eyes opened wide upon seeing his face so close to hers, and she released her hold on him, her feet touching the ground once more. Suddenly he felt very cold.

Then, with no mental preparation whatsoever, she reared her hand back and slapped him square across the face.

He blinked a couple of times and stood very still as if hoping to alleviate the very painful sting of contact. When his cheek finally started to go numb, he turned to Kazuha and snapped. "What the hell was that for?!"

"What do you think you're doing, kissing me like that?" she retorted, crossing her arms over her body as if she was protecting herself from some animal.

"What am I doing?" Heiji demanded, "You kissed me back!"

"What?" she looked scandalized. "I did no such thing!"

Heiji's mouth dropped. Was she being serious? Or just playing dumb?

"Get out," she commanded, pointing to the kitchen entrance for emphasis.

"No."

"Don't make me throw this at you," she threatened, quickly grabbing a box of pasta from the counter.

He scoffed. "A box of pasta isn't going to make me leave, idiot."

The box sailed toward his face but was ducked easily. "Get. Out."

Heiji shook his head and approached her. She threw him a dirty look but before she could sidestep, he cornered her between the wall and the refrigerator, his hands on her shoulders. "I don't like it," he declared. "I don't like us fighting. I don't like us not talking. I hate it."

Her shoulders shook. "So what am I supposed to do, Heiji? If I agree to talk to you again, will you stop going on your cases? No, that's not going to happen. We're both too selfish for our own good, and it's not..."

No. He refused to let this girl go, not with this chance right in front of him. "And if I told you I love you?"

Kazuha glanced at him briefly. A tiny ray of hope was visible in her eye before it disappeared and she looked away. "That's... not relevant."

"How do you figure?"

"Because it's a lie," she replied, looking down. "Because it's not possible."

Heiji's fingers pulled her chin up so he could look her straight in the eye. "You think you know everything, Kazuha," his voice was sharp, but not unkind. "And you're an idiot because of it, but that doesn't change the way I feel."

It was there, with stunning clarity, in his eyes.

She swallowed. "...I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," he said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Because I know you feel the same. But I won't force you to say it, at least not now."

Kazuha couldn't help but protest. "Who says I feel the same? Now you're the one assuming things."

He ignored her statement. "And people in love work things out. So I know that we'll get over this little rift of ours in no time."

She stared. "You're unbelievable."

"Call you tomorrow?"

"Get out."

--

Kazuha became vaguely aware of a ringing sound as she woke. Her eyes drifted open to see the study materials spread out on the couch. The darkness from her window clearly indicated that night had fallen. A quick look at the clock confirmed this, reading 10:15 pm.

The ringing persisted.

Realizing rather belatedly that the sound originated from the front door, she slowly stood and approached the door while rubbing her eyes.

Heiji stood on the porch, hands in his pockets. "Hey."

She frowned at him. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't answer your phone."

"I was studying. Well, I tried to."

"Come on out then. You need some air."

"No," she glared. "I have an anatomy exam tomorrow."

He stared at her.

"No," she pressed. He wordlessly plucked her keys from the table just inside the door and grasped her hand.

"What are you doing?" Kazuha demanded, attempting to pull her hand free, only resulting in his grip getting firmer as he pulled her away from their neighboring houses. "Let go!"

"Be quiet," Heiji ordered, and eventually his footsteps led her to the nearby park. The few streetlamps illuminated the jungle gym, casting an eerie white glow.

"Why'd you take me here, Heiji? It's late, and I need to study, and it's cold."

"Come here if you're cold." And without warning, he pulled her to his chest, wrapping his jacket around her shoulders as well.

She froze for a minute. Slowly his body heat began intermingling with her own. Warmth, comfort slipped into Kazuha's stomach. Heiji let out a contented sigh as his chin rested atop her head. A chill shot through the air, and he pulled her closer. "Let's just stay like this for a bit. Like you said, it's cold."

"It was warm inside my place," she said pointedly.

"Need help studying?"

"No."

"Oh, okay." Something in his voice sounded almost disappointed.

"...I don't know. Maybe."

"Well let's go then." And he took her hand, starting off back home.

She looked down at their twined fingers first and noticed the dumb grin on his face second. "Heiji?"

"What?"

"...You're stupid."

"Yeah, yeah."

end.


End file.
